Shia Muslims are gathering at shrines and mosques to mark a 10-day event that will culminate on Wednesday (12 October) with the day of Ashura, which commemorates the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein at the battle of Karbala, now in southern Iraq, in AD 680.

Many devotees beat their heads and chests with chains and knives, and gash their heads with swords to show their grief and echo the suffering of Imam Hussein.

Shia men flagellate themselves during a ceremony marking Ashura in Karbala, IraqReutersA Shia man flagellates himself during a ceremony marking Ashura in Karbala, IraqReutersYoung Kashmiri Shia Muslims flagellate themselves during a procession in SrinagarTauseef Mustafa/AFPBlood runs down a Kashmiri Shia Muslim man's face after he beat himself during an Ashura parade in SrinagarTauseef Mustafa/AFPIraqi Shia men beat themselves with chains during a parade in the southern city of BasraHaidar Mohammed Ali/AFPAfghan Shia Muslims use chains and blades during ritual self-flagellation as part of Ashura commemorations at a mosque in KabulShah Marai/AFPA Shia Muslim man beats himself with chains and blades at a mosque in KabulShah Marai/AFPPeople clean a blood-covered floor after ritual self-flagellation as part of Ashura commemorations at a mosque in KabulShah Marai/AFPIraqi Shia Muslims carry torches during a parade as part of Ashura commemorations in the holy city of NajafHaidar Hamdani/AFPShia Muslims spin flaming torches during commemorations for Ashura in Najaf, IraqAlaa Al-Marjani/ReutersA man spins flaming torches during Ashura celebrations in the holy city of Najaf, IraqAlaa Al-Marjani/ReutersAn Iraqi Shia man performs during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala, in the holy city of NajafHaidar Hamdani/AFPChildren take part in an Ashura parade in the holy city of NajafHaidar Hamdani/AFPA man performs during the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala during an Ashura parade in Baghdad's northern district of KadhimiyaAhmad al-Rubaye/AFPIraqi Shia children take part in the reenactment of the Battle of Karbala in Baghdad's northern district of KadhimiyaAhmad al-Rubaye/AFPA child beats himself with chains during a parade in Baghdad's northern district of KadhimiyaAhmad al-Rubaye/AFPIraqi Shia men beat themselves with chains during a parade in Kadhimiya, BaghdadAhmad al-Rubaye/AFPShia Muslims commemorate Ashura in the holy city of Karbala, IraqReutersAn Afghan Shia Muslim child watches devotees beat themselves during Ashura commemorations at a mosque in KabulShah Marai/AFPA man says his prayers at a Shia mosque in Islamabad, PakistanCaren Firouz/ReutersShia Muslim men are stopped by Indian policemen while trying to participate in an Ashura procession during a curfew in SrinagarDanish Ismail/ReutersA man polishes a religious symbol in preparation for the Ashura procession in Peshawar, PakistanFayaz Aziz/ReutersPakistani rangers stand guard during a Shia Muslim procession in QuettaBanaras Khan/AFPHezbollah members drive a pick-up truck mounted with a mock rocket as they parade during a procession in Saksakieh in southern LebanonAli Hashisho/ReutersA veiled woman and young boy hold a toy gun during a parade by fighters of Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hezbollah movement in SaksakiehFighters of the Hezbollah movement take part in a parade marking the seventh day of the Ashura mourning period in the southern Lebanese town of SaksakiehMahmoud Zayyat/AFP

The mourning period of Muharram comes at a particularly turbulent time in the Middle East, which has seen an increase in sectarian violence alongside the spread of the Islamic State and other extremist Sunni groups, who believe Shia Muslims are apostates deserving death. Shia Muslims, who make up nearly 15 per cent of the Islamic world, mourn for a month as part of the festival.